The Biden administration is advancing a $680 million weapon package to Israel, a US official confirmed to The Times of Israel on Wednesday, while insisting that the arms sale was not tied to the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which went into effect hours earlier.
Uh huh. Even I’m not that gullible.
The Financial Times broke the story on the sale of thousands of joint direct attack munition kits (JDAMs), just hours after Biden administration officials briefing news hounds on the ceasefire denied reports that Washington had agreed to transfer additional lethal weapons to Israel in exchange for Jerusalem signing onto the Leb...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
deal.
The US official speaking to The Times of Israel on Wednesday stood by this assertion, explaining the JDAM sale has been in the works for several months and is just one of countless weapon shipments green-lit since Hamas
..always the voice of sweet reason...’s October 7 onslaught, including ones in recent weeks before the Lebanon ceasefire was signed.
Lie better, guys.
"There are constantly packages being advanced through various stages. This has nothing to do with the ceasefire in Lebanon," the US official said."This case has been in the pipeline for some time now.
No doubt that is true.
Deliveries aren’t expected to start for at least a year, and this should be viewed in the context of long-term support for Israel’s defense and not tied to the ceasefire yesterday or any specific current activity," said another US official.Slow walk, misfile the paperwork, await signatures of people — like President Biden — who are temporarily out of the office… lots of ways to keep things in the pipeline that should have squirted out long since, when the the party of the second part is feeling hostile.
The State Department declined to confirm the advancement of the JDAMs sale but did say that US support for Israel’s security against Iran-backed threats is "unwavering" …yeah, yeah — y’all keep saying that with the conviction of an off-off-off-Broadway actor…
and that no country can be expected to tolerate the threats Israel is facing.And yet you and your president expect Israel to do exactly that, with your demands that Israel sign truces and stop picking on those poor human shields behind which Hamas and Hezbollah hide.
The statement from the State Department said all weapon transfers are carried out in line with US law, which bars their use in the perpetration of war crimes or by countries that block the delivery of humanitarian aid
to civilians.Neither of which can be ascribed to Israel, though you do so anyway. Unwaveringly.
"We have made clear that Israel must comply with international humanitarian law, has a moral obligation and strategic imperative to protect civilians, investigate allegations of any wrongdoing, and ensure accountability for any abuses or violations of international human rights...which are usually entirely different from personal
liberty...
law or international humanitarian law," the State Department says.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed yesterday that the US has been delaying weapon shipments to Israel — setbacks that would end soon, he said, not so subtly referencing the January 20 inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump
...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US...
The Biden administration immediately denied Netanyahu’s claims, saying the only shipment that has been withheld is a package of 2,000-lb bombs that Washington is concerned would be used in densely populated areas.
Hebrew media reports in recent days quoted unnamed Netanyahu associates claiming that the Biden administration pledged to release withheld weapon shipments in exchange for Israel agreeing to a ceasefire in Lebanon. Other aides to the premier have highlighted that the return of Donald Trump to the White House would also ensure an end to the alleged delay of weapons shipments.
US special envoy Amos Hochstein, who was the chief mediator of the Lebanon ceasefire, said Wednesday that claims by Netanyahu’s office that the US had threatened to advance a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire if Israel rejected the US-brokered deal were also false.
Related:
JDAM 11/26/2024 Russian Perspective: Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (25 November 2024)
JDAM 11/21/2024 30% of Senate Democrats have voted in favor of an arms embargo to Israel.
JDAM 11/21/2024 Biden Administration has decided to delay the shipment of approximately 20,000 MK84 bombs
JDAM 11/26/2024 Russian Perspective: Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (25 November 2024)
JDAM 11/21/2024 30% of Senate Democrats have voted in favor of an arms embargo to Israel.
JDAM 11/21/2024 Biden Administration has decided to delay the shipment of approximately 20,000 MK84 bombs